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Hi!
OMG! Is he a Koolie, or a cat LOL!! Lounging on the table and in high placesā¦He cracks me up!>Weāve been home for almost 2 weeks and I think itās the longest Vibeās been here since I got him.>
He has certainly got a lot of travel under his belt already! For summer 2027 if you want an epic road tripā¦ the DASH Open in Rhode Island (2nd weekend of July). Vibe will be able to run too! I mean, Rhode Island is just a short hop from California LOL!
>Itās like watching water boil so Iāll post when weāre a bit farther along.>
Haha!!! As long as he is not bored, all is good š
The tunnel rocking horse session went GREAT!! You built it up beautifully and had great connection throughout the session.
Speaking of connection:
When you are warming him up on one wing or working on circle wraps, you can add some disconnection š On those 360 degree circle wraps, we want you to eventually be able to continue looking forward and not at him (as a prep for a blind on the exit, for example). So on the wraps where you are walking through it: keep looking ahead as he passes you to wrap so you are deliberately disconnecting a little. Keep half an eye on him to see if he completes the wrap – but I bet he will if you start this with walking.He did great with the wing-tunnel-wing reps! Yes, two little bloopers but both were mainly because the cues were right on the edge of his current state of independence in terms of distance and countermotion. For the distance, you can be behind him on the sends but face forward til he is almost at the wing then stroll out of it rather than blast out of the wrap. Same concept for the countermotion: as he passes you, still try to leave for the next line nice and early but do it at a casual stroll š rather than running. You can crank up the speed more and more as he gets more and more successful.
One other thing I notice is that the toy really seems to be a true reinforcement now – he is really driving to it, whether it is from your hand or on the ground. And even better: brings it right to you when he gets it from the ground. Happy dance! Your foundation training and carefully building it up is really paying off!
>He LOVES playing in the hose now (like Ripley) so Iāve been breaking up our sessions for hose play breaks frequently.>
Very fun! This is great!
Nice work here! Stay cool!
Tracy
Hi!
>I still donāt have a job so this work has been helping my emotional state so much. The job I am waiting for might still come through sometime this summer. Keeping fingers crossed.>Ugh that must be SO HARD!!!! Fingers crossed for the job to come through!
>I have a larger jump bump and also pool noodle but the pool noodle I think is under 4 feet in length.>
I think the larger jump bump should be great!
>The pieces he was eating was what came out from his tugging vs shredding. Silly guy. He had eaten lunch so I donāt know why the fuzzy pieces were so appealing š¤£. Still decompressing maybe like a snuffle mat?>
Yes – some dogs decompress by shredding, especially in the middle of a work session. Several of mine do that. A friend of mine was running my Contraband today, and he was decompressing by shredding his toy and ended up with a Santa beard of fuzz from it LOL!
>Donāt have limit for working spots on max puppy 2? Trying to figure out options and how quickly I have to sign up to get spot.>
There is no limit! So you have plenty of time to sort things out. And if you want a working spot but lack of a job is holding you back, no worries – we put you in the working spot and pay later when the job situation is sorted out. It is stressful enough nowadays and puppy training is what keeps us all sane š
Tracy
Hi!
I love your energy with the recalls – so fun!!!! That definitely contributes to his success!
And it looks like your instructor was adding some good distractions. Dublin was perfect though. Yay! You can add another dog to it – just standing there, then walking, then eventually they can do side by side recalls. The other dog should be very nice though, in case Dublin has to go visit šHe looks fantastic!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! I am excited to see you and the boys!!!
That was an impressive run – great job navigating him through tight spaces! And the layering looked GREAT! Wow!!! I am also very impressed with his turn off the running a-frame… exactly zero of my dogs would have been able to do that.
I am looking forward to your posts!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Today Dublin turns 8 months old >
Happy 8 month birthday, Dublin! I canāt believe he is already 8 monthsā¦ but also he is ONLY 8 months. He is doing so well with ALL the things and is already a fantastic teammate. What a good boy!!! Remember this:
Throwback to Baby Dubs!!!!On the video:
I agree, he did great with the decel game. Stay? Lovely! Drive forward when cued? Perfect! Decel and collection when you didnāt move? Perfect! He seemed to have zero questions, even with the arousal from the toy.One suggestion for this game: be sure to be connected back to him when you want the drive forward. If you are looking ahead and arm pointing at the line (like at 2:43), he questioned if he should drive to you (or change sides like a blind) or go straight. You were clearer at 3:28 with connection so he had less of a question. You can point your hand back behind you towards his nose to make even clearer connection on the straight line.
Do you have a jump bump or something bigger for him to go over? He is a little young for much by way of the bar, but if you donāt have a bump or pool noodle you can use a 4 inch bar for this.
Countermotion: easy peasy although at one point it looked like he thought you tossed a treat into the grass haha!!
>Not sure why he wanted to eat the fuzzies he pulled from the toy that were on the ground lol. >
Is that what he was looking at? My dogs LOVE to shred that type of toy – it seems to be a kind of decompression for them (repeated mouth movements like shredding/chewing, mouthing can indeed be decompression) but I try to direct them towards less expensive toys to shred š
>I will add some movement next time. >
Yes! Since this went really well, you can release him and point backwardsā¦ and then begin to slowly walk forward towards him before he passes you. Remember to keep looking behind you and pointing behind you as you do this: it might be hard!
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
Super nice Biathlon run!!! He did really well with the TW and also the turn into the weasel – I think he believes they are a STUPID but did them anyway hahaha š
One thing we can focus on this summer to shave off bits of time is convincing him to drive ahead of you more and leave you in the dust on the bigger lines (without losing the tight, technical work he does really well too)For Lift –
The med should be somewhat regulated in about 8 weeks, and it is designed to make her be able to learn more easily without her nervous system overriding the cognitive side of things with the reaction side of things. So in coming weeks, you can start giving her other things to do before the things you will see as potential triggers. That can be partially management and partially alternate behavior, like running to a mat or station.Lift layering: Looking at the differences between run 1 and run 2:
On run 1, the send to 3 had a lot of decel and a quiet ājumpā verbal (and disconnection, which she could see) so she turned at :22 and picked up the tunnel.
On run 2, the send had you facing 3 & 4 more, lower arms (clearer connection), and the verbals were louder and more urgent: GO JUMP and JUMP JUMP JUMP. Followed by a strong parallel line.
That made run 3 and run 4 really strong! The timing of the blind on run 4 was spot on – I liked it better than the timing on run 3, which was a little later so her turn was wider. Your running line was strong on both! The strong line plus lovely timing and connection on run 4 made it really easy for her to see the backside. Yay!
Kaladinās turn:
This was a good camera angle at 2!
Note how as he approaches 2 at :08, you shift your connection and start delivering your verbal cues out towards jump 3 and the tunnel – which turns your shoulders directly to the tunnel š He saved you there based on the verbal (GOOD BOY, EXTRA CHEESE AND FRIZZERS!)The same thing happened at :37, but you turned more so he came in and took the tunnel. Good boy! Keeps you on your toes about the connection š At 1:08 you ran forward more and faced 3 longer so it was a smoother line into the layering but I think the answer to get it more independent is simpler: look at him and not at the line. Yo can see his questions when you did the other side at the end – he took the line, but added strides and had a little zig zag at 1:39-1:40 to figure out the line.
It would be interesting to see how he does when you look directly at him on the jump 2 here (and jump 2-3 on the first sequence that Lift did and he did at the end). That exaggerates the shoulder line without you having to run in as much. An outside arm to support that is perfectly appropriate here too!
>I havenāt trained a stay that is for a position the dog chooses. I also havenāt done much with a stand which I think might be something she would choose over a sit.>
Agreed about many dogs including Lift potentially choosing the stand, or at least give us info about her arousal level based on what she does.
> Pretty sure she wonāt flop down into a down if she doesnāt want to sit because thatās just weird (Sorry, Larry!).>
Also agree! It is weird for any dog besides a Border Collie š unless we have built a TON of value for a down (I have not done this with the whippets LOL)
> Did you train that with a prop like a Cato?>
Nope, I didnāt use a Cato for any start line stay behavior. I only want to use it a a last resort because once we add it inā¦ then we have to fade it out and THAT is the hard part!
> Or is it that dog is moving around and you wait for a pause in a position and reward the pause? Then add āstayā cue later.>
I use a superstitious stay cue (meaning, I am not sure the dogs need it but it helps with MY arousal regulation haha). So I get the dog into a generally good position in front of a jump (at my side, for example). Then I say stay, wait til the dog chooses – and then I lead out. Also, they learn that choosing SOMETHING where they stop moving gets rid of me faster at the start line haha! Knowing the stay verbal by itself is not really needed because the dogs recognize the concept and usually just offer some sort of stay (they do look surprised at first that the stand is acceptable).
I teach it separately as a concept using some play away from agility stuff: a bit of the olā ready dance, then I say stay and let them settle into any position. Then I either throw a reward back, or lead out then release & reward (or throw back). This is stuff that has roots in MaxPup 1 and I am confident she will recognize it immediately š
On the video:
Her session went well! Question – after all this arousal and being on the edge of frustration, how is she *after* the session? Tired, potentially cranky? Or hyped up and struggline to stop moving? Or happy and feeing good but able to relax? This will tell us how much & how frequently we can do this, based on how it works her nervous system. And it is definitely working her nervous system and arousal, because we are seeing the barking/spinning/boinging. She is still very successful with the behavior you are asking for, YAY!!! You can work this with other skills too (it all works together nicely) but we might need to give her 3 or 4 days off between sessions so her nervous system can reset.Great job here!
Tracy
Welcome to you and Grace (also known as the Best Chihuahua In The World!) Glad to see you both here!
>Iām noticing she is locking on to the next obstacle earlier ā which has, a couple of times, been an off-course trap. Maybe Iāll need those reverse spins!>
This is good! Small dogs need BIG commitment. It will serve you really well with what she needs to do on course. We will look at what she needs to help avoid off courses: spins, perhaps – but brake arms are easier most of the time and not as hard to execute.
>We are seeing more tunnels under dogwalks and Aframes since this is now allowed by ANKC, so the judges think they should. And more backsidesā¦>
Sounds like your course trends are similar to our course trends, which are coming from the European/FCI style of tunnels under contacts, layering, backsides, threadles.
I agree that she did GREAT with this first game! Bear in mind that this is basically a blind exercise for a small dog like Grace – the tunnel blocks her view of your feet & motion, and her head is too low to see your upper body above the tunnel. It is much harder for her than it is for a large dog!
>Missed jump 4 the first time and came inside along the wall of the tunnel. >
On that first run, I think 2 things where happening: she is newer to the skill, plus it looks like you pulled away slightly to your left and she saw that before losing sight of you behind the tunnel.
>Toy lure fixed that. >
Yes! Was there something else out there, or only the reward you were throwing? The rewards were spot on!!! And that allowed to get you back up the line very easily.
The other thing to consider is leading out less from jump 1 and running closer to jump 2, so you can accelerate along the line to set the layering 2-3-4. That will help her propel onto the line and get you to where you want to be even more easily.
Great job here! Let me know how the other side goes!
Tracy
Good morning!
>He is named after the 80ās Falco singer š>
Yessssss I love it!
>Yes, 2 brake hands are something I need to work on, I forget to use them.>
We will be working on the when & where & why for the brake hands this summer – useful tool for sure!
> And good observation on the left being harder for him. Heās always had a harder time on the left for things like even jumping out of the car, he prefers to turn to the right. I donāt know if itās a behavioral thing or a physical thing, but heās always been that way.>
I think it is normal and simply that all dogs have a side-preference, much like humans do š I have 9 dogs and all have a clear side-preference (4 lefties, 5 righties š) that I see in life and in flyball. But it is really good to know!
I don’t see it in agility as the dogs get more mature because we balance the training carefully and I do lots of stretching/flexibility stuff to the harder side. By balancing the training, I teach hard or new concepts to the easier direction first, then teach it to the harder direction (usually in the same session or the next session). But early in their career, I give bigger or more helpful cues to assist on the harder side. And example of that would be serping my young Whippet to his left: he is a righty and needs a LOT of help with a lead change to his left. That help comes in the form of handler pressure, which helps a lot š
>I was doing the thigh tap because I didnāt setup the course with enough room and I was afraid heād smash into the wall (he wonāt, but I thought he might lol).I should have fixed the course or just supported the jump better, he was a good boy and came with me.>
Got it! That makes total sense. And he was a good boy for sure <3
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
>Being 2nd in SS which was the larger class also helped since he got more cup points there. >
Being 2nd in SS is fantastic! That is a class that tends to favor the bigger dogs – and there are plenty of bigger dogs in 12S!! Great job!!
>Iām hoping I might be able to catch you at OTR next June if your schedule follows the AKC corresponding date calendar where everything is later next year. >
I hope so too! I will ask Nancy what she thinks. I always assume it is the same weekend as my birthday (June 13) because that is what it has been for all these years.
>Lift is doing a lot better with agility handling. She is recovering better from less than perfect handling and is way less boingy even on sends so weāre doing something right there. >
Super!!!!
> She won both her SS classes at the Classic and was brilliant, but I carried her to and from the scoring/grooming room to the ring and she only did the 2 SS classes on Friday and then recovered at home the next 2 days. >
Congrats – both on the wins, but also the strategy of making it easier for her by carrying her, then letting her sleep it off for 2 days.
> Sheās also reactive to movement at home ā esp by Dean or Demi. And when she loses it, it sets Kaladin off and then chaos ensuesā¦all when Iām trying to work at home. >
Oh dear, that is really hard! What about Dean and Demi will set it off – when they get up to move to a new location, or something like that?
>I was more focused on trying to sort out her GI issues >
Those are super important and the more we learn, the more we know that the GI is linked to all of this behavior and mood.
>I asked her if she thought some kind of meds would be a good next step and she agreed. >
Meds are good!! One thing to bear in mind is that a lot of the behavior vets are using ācocktailsā of meds to find the sweet spot for each individual dog. Between the GI stuff and the meds, you might want to talk to Dr. Kathy Murphy who is both experienced and quite genius in this area.
> but I would really like her to be able to function better in every day life. >
Totally agree! Daily life is more important than sporty life – and plus it influences sporty life too!
She was so funny when you worked all the tunnel reps: āIT CANNOT BE ANOTHER TUNNEL, MUST BE THE JUMPā hahahaha and you got some barking which is good! And spinning on the 2nd rep pf it. All of that helps set the āvibeā of high arousal. She was really wild on the 2nd rep!
But she did it perfectly both times. SUPER!!!!!! You had her facing away from the tunnel n the 2nd rep so you can add in facing the tunnel too.The other thing to add on is the leash: get her wild š then leash up and proceed to the start line. That can help her learn to cope with her āon leash feelingsā as she moves to the first jump. We will definitely be adding more to the whole vibe-setting thing this summer and we can also include some of her regular life behaviors in it too!
>She had a harder time sitting but she didntā turn into an angry kangaroo and once she sat, she stayed put until released. I think with her & arousal, itās harder to sit than it is to stay once she decides she can sit.>
Yes – being able to move into the sit position (or not being able to do it) is a huge indicator or arousal. One thing to consider is, in the interest of getting her off the start line as soon as possible, asking for a stay and letting her choose the position. In those high arousal moments, that can be great for agency and resilience! The deal is that we say āstayā and give the dog a moment to choose. And once they have chosen, no movement is allowed until the release. I am happy with whatever position they choose! When really aroused, Contraband will choose a stand, Ramen will choose a sit, and LarryWhippet chooses a down (what the heck, Larry, that is weird hahahaha)
But that tells me about their arousal state and they also donāt move from position – win win!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
Welcome back, great to see you here with Falco! (Side note: is his theme song āRock Me Amadeusā by any chance, or am I just an old person now š š¤£) He is really cool to watch!!!
>Falco has great skills but when I put it together at a trial my timing etc is off or Iām not where I expected to be. >
Feel free to send along specific examples of this, in writing, on any maps you might have, or any videos! We can recreate the challenges so you (and everyone) is very prepared to tackle them at trials š
The work on the video looked really strong!
The hardest part for him was getting jump 3 on the first setup, with him on your right side.
The first rep had an off course tunnel at :08 – tat was a small handling blooper where you turned away from the line too early so he came with you.
Much better parallel line running to show him jump 3 at :19 and after that!
At 1:20 you were a little earlier turning which might have been a little too soon for him (bar tick on 2).On thing I notice is that he was not as smooth turning to his left here as he was turning to his right (see below). It is possible that left turns are harder for him, so he was a bit wider on the 2-3 jump. No worries, he was sorting out how to make the bend and will keep getting better as we show it to him more.
The backside wrap on 6 looked really good!
The blind at :54 was lovely – spot on timing, and GREAT connection as he was approaching the BC jump!Is the thigh tap and check check verbal a wrap cue for the jump after the blind – he came off the line at :56. The thigh tap closed off the connection and turned your shoulders away from the jump, which is what cued him not to take it.
Same gorgeous timing and connection on the blind at 1:09! No thigh tap on the exit of it and you maintained connection, so he had no questions about taking the jump. He gave good feedback about not needing the thigh tap there and also about completely understanding the line you set using the blind. Super!!!!
Lovely blind cross timing and connection on the slightly different line at 1:23 produced the backside easily! He was a little wide on the turn there at 1:25 (almost slicing the bar), even with good decel from you. One thing we can add is – as he is catching up to you after the blind – sending him to the backside with both hands held low and on the entry side of the backside wing. Those ābrakeā hands ask for a touch more collection and he will naturally turn tighter. It is something we will definitely play with this summer!
Other side:
The layering line and parallel path was easier for him here! Maybe he has an easier time turning to his right?Very nice connection over 5 to get the backside of 6.
Another gorgeous blind cross at 2:15! And 2:30!!!! And 2:45!!! You are absolutely nailing the timing and connection!!! Clearly the blinds are a BIG strength for you. That is great because being able to confidently blind like you did here is soooo useful on course.
Looks like you wanted the backside at 2:18 and 2:33, but got the front side. That happened because your line was pretty directly to the front side, and you shifted your arm forward ahead of him to cue the backside: which actually cues the front side by turning your shoulders to it.
So he was pretty convinced that it was a front side. I thought you wanted the front side too at 2:18 š That line of motion and shoulder turn will override the backside verbal in this situation.Compare to the last rep at 2:47 where two things were a little different:
-you had a clearer line of motion on the blind cross exit, right on the line you wanted him to take
-You had your arm back as you connected to him after the blind, and kept it back until after he passed you on the way to the backside.He went to the backside pretty easily there. Yay!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
He was a good boy here!!! Held the stay without a question until the reward or release so just about all of it. And when released, he understood to go to the cone, no problems at all. Super!!!!
The one blooper was at 1:55 where he scratched then stood up as if he forgot what he was doing for a moment š No worries about that! It is possible that the food reward was making him a little too āchillā so that is why it happened.
You can mix in a toy reward too – can he hold the stay beautifully like this when he is more pumped up? That will be great practice for agility trials! I am betting he will be successful, because I have seen his stays in some of your class videos (looking good!) and I image the duck in his field training gets him pretty pumped up too š
Since this went perfectly, you can add in taking it outside (when the weather cooperates :)) and using it on a wing while adding more and more distance.
Great job here!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Sadly, I do have a tug-it cue, and I have forgotten to use it. >
This is totally relatable! I catch myself using āYAY!!!ā a whole lot hahahaha Several of my dogs have somehow taught themselves to ignore the toy in my hand despite all of the āyayā they hear. But a few have taught me that they needed me to be super consistent, and I think Rou is like them. The good news is that because I was consistent with it when they were teenagers, they figured it out quickly and allow me to be sloppy about it now LOL! I expect the same with Rou – she will figure it out brilliantly and then it wonāt matter as much if you use it or not.
>She did great!>
I totally agree!!! It looks like she was staring at the toy at the beginning, so the pattern game/eye contact moments were a great start. It seemed easier for her to move past the toy on your left side (or maybe it was the camera angle). But on your right side, she had to move past the toy that was right over her head – there were tiny hesitations but she did it each time! Happy dance!!!!
So you can apply this to the rocking horse games: 2 wings, front crosses between each wing. And to prevent switching the toy back and forth from hand to hand, have a small toy in each hand š the use the marker when you want her to grab one.
And you can also do some tunnel reps or wing-to-tunnel reps using this same concept.
>As far as building value, we have wasps nearby. Lately, they havenāt been showing up until about 10:00 am, so Iāll see if I can try some hunks of food before they show up. Better yet, letās hope my husband can find the nest and give me peace of mind.>
Ewwwwww wasps!!!! I hate those buggers!!! The food throws can wait til the wasps are gone. I think the āignore the toyā games will bubble over nicely to building value for the jumps so you can do those when you arenāt concerned about the wasps.
Keep me posted! Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
This part of the session went well too. You mentioned something about ātoo much motionā here, but actually your motion was good! We do want you to release after you pass the exit wing – the trick is looking back (and pointing back) to the landing spot of the jump. You were pointing back to it which helped (like at 1:24) but you were looking at him so he didnāt always know you wanted him to take the jump (even with the lurely reward placement š š)
So this is a spot where you get to disconnect from his cute face and shift your connection to full look at the landing spot. That will turn your shoulders to the landing spot too, which helps him commit. Looking at him makes the countermotion harder because it keeps your shoulders forward and never indicates the landing spot. It will feel weird to disconnect š but it should help!
If he still thinks the countermotion is weird after you disconnect to look at/point at the landing spot, you can use something like a food bowl as a visual aid to help convince him š followed by throwing the treat back to the bowl (or even having it there in advance to help him love the countermotion).
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi!
>I love your portmanteau word, lurely. >
Ha! And you win the prize for using the fanciest word ever here at Agility U!
The backside session went well – the best reps were when you were moving forward AND keeping your arm back (1:14 and 2:05 and 2:28 were my favorite reps!)
Swtting the line with motion was key (being a little ahead of him for now). When you were not moving as much, he would get in front and see the front of the bar.
And keeping your arm back with your eyes directly on him kept your shoulders pointing to the line to the backside. When your arm moved forward or you softened the connection by looking forward, that turned your shoulders to the front side of the bar.
On the successful reps, the motion forward (parallel to his line) and the arm back/connection worked together to show him the line to the backside. Nice rewarding! And I donāt think he got sucked into the tunnel at all.
Great job here!
Tracy
